Heads up!

Zelda Universe's December 2018 Writing Contest:
"Something in the Snow"

So you know how we had a contest last month? Yeah, well, none of you entered, so we didn't even have a voting phase...scalawags! How very dare you!

Nah, I get it: the old system of basing entries off of a broad, one-word theme was overwhelming and didn't provide quite enough inspiration for most people. What? "Old" system? That's right: we're going to try something different this month. Instead of a theme, per se, we're going to get you on your way with a slightly more specific prompt. I gave October's winner, the venerable GregariousTree, the opportunity to pick a prompt for you all, but he's a little busy at the moment, so you're stuck with a prompt from me. Fufufufu...

It's December, and for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, that means winter is already rearing its sadistic head. (I'm not a fan of winter. I hate the cold. Like, overheating is exhausting and uncomfortable, but freezing is actually painful. In fact, the cold is a big reason why I haven't moved to Canada yet. Wait...oh, sorry. I digress.) And for those of us in or north of temperate regions, snow is becoming increasingly likely. I already had a freak snow day last month that made me want to tear my hair out.

What I'm trying to lead up to here, very slowly and meanderingly, is this month's writing contest prompt: "something in the snow." Make of that what you will, folks! I spent two seconds thinking it up!

The process for entering the contest is the same as always: submit an original piece of writing that involves this month's theme prompt in some way—feel free to be as creative with your interpretation of the theme prompt as you would like!—for a chance to win the year 2018! …Yeah, not quite, but the winning entry will be featured in the Creators' Retreat, and the winner will get to choose the next contest's theme prompt! Also, a general sense of satisfaction, yadda yadda...

Submission guidelines: Send in your entry (limit one per person) via PM ("Conversation") to @EzloSpirit; you may make revisions (using the Edit button) as many times as you see fit until the deadline. Also, please title your work. Entries and their authors are subject to the ZU and Creative Corner board rules. Finally, entries should be new to Zelda Universe; that is, they cannot have been posted on ZU before this contest—content posted on other sites is fine, but it must be your own work, and you must be able to prove that if it comes into question. Plagiarism will not be tolerated and will result in disciplinary action per the rules.

Decision process: After the deadline passes, all submitted entries will be posted anonymously in a voting thread in the order that they were initially sent in. Members of the ZU community will then have one week to read the entries and vote on their favorite one(s). The number of votes per member will be allotted at the start of the voting phase, based on the number of entries.

Winnings: A feature in the sticky Creators' Retreat thread in the Creative Corner, and the opportunity to select next month's prompt. The runner-up (second-place) entry(s) will be featured in the results thread alongside the winning entry(s).

But something has to be in the snow lol. Is it a corpse? Is it a cat? Is it a water bottle? Is it a monkey wrench? And what is it doing there...? Or is that just one, inconsequential scene of your entry?

I'm still trying to give you a lot of freedom while being less abstract.

But something has to be in the snow lol. Is it a corpse? Is it a cat? Is it a water bottle? Is it a monkey wrench? And what is it doing there...? Or is that just one, inconsequential scene of your entry?

I'm still trying to give you a lot of freedom while being less abstract.

Visualize the block. Slap some horrid symbol on it. Then, picture all the dead ends and unfinished stories as some clever puzzle you have to push the block through.

Well, it's obvious the puzzle will be complex. To push that writer's block onto the switch will be a personal challenge. But when you hear that chime and the door opens to the next room, it will lead you to the realm of creativity.

Technically, about three hours remain, but I'm going to extend the deadline by twelve hours because my body hates me and I likely won't be able to do anything about the contest until the afternoon, anyway.